


In the Dark

by zenmisery



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Lost in the Dark, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, Minor Original Character(s), No Child Deaths, Reunions, tender moments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:55:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24493843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zenmisery/pseuds/zenmisery
Summary: Lost in complete darkness, Marinette comes across a child who has just been through the same ordeal she went through. Except, she doesn’t know what that ordeal is, how to find his mother, or how she’s going to explain if he ever sees her face when he’s already identified her as Ladybug and she can’t find Tikki.
Relationships: Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 58
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette opened her eyes but saw nothing. Panic set in as she raised her hands to her face and realized she couldn’t even see her fingers. A sharp pain in her head throbbed and she wondered if a head injury had caused her to go blind.

“Help! I can’t see!” A voice in the distance called.

After a moment, Marinette realized that she probably wasn’t blind, and someone needed her. Well, someone needed Ladybug.

“Tikki!” Marinette felt around until she found a wall, and used it to help herself stand, the pounding in her head increasing as she did so. “Tikki, are you there?” When she heard no tiny voice reply, she felt along the wall as she moved in the direction of the voice that she had heard call for help.

She tripped over several things as she moved, but once she got closer, she heard someone crying. “Are you okay? Do you need help?”

“Ladybug? Is that you? I knew you would come!” The voice sounded like it belonged to a child, and Marinette reached out her hand, only to find a small one already reaching out to find her. The child grasped her hand like a lifeline, and immediately rushed forward to hug Marinette tightly, their little head nuzzling into Marinette’s stomach. “I don’t know what happened. I was with my mommy and we were laughing at the man giving us the tour, and then…” The child started crying again, and Marinette got down on her knees so she could properly return the hug.

“It’s okay. I’m here, and you know I always make everything bet… better.” Marinette’s voice caught as she spoke the last word. She realized that whatever happened wasn’t because of an akuma, and she had no idea if she could fix anything. She didn’t have the heart to ruin the child’s hope by telling him she was anyone other than Ladybug, so she would simply have to hope that she could get them to safety without showing her face.

“What’s your name, sweetie?”

The child sniffled and squeezed Marinette tighter. “Luc.”

Smiling, Marinette stood once again and took his hand in her own. “Okay Luc. We’re going to find out what happened and get you to your mom, okay? But stay close to me, alright?”

Luc clung to her arm and stepped carefully behind her as she continued following the wall, searching for a door, a sign, or another person. Anything, really. “Hello? Is anyone else here?” Immediately after, she tripped, letting go of Luc’s hand to catch herself.

“Ladybug??”

“It’s okay Luc,” she pushed herself back up and reached to touch his hand, “I’m right here, I just fell.”

“Ladybug? You’re here?” Another voice called from close by.

Marinette hesitated. She was pretty sure she knew who the voice belonged to, and the more people that knew she was Ladybug, the more she risked her identity if the lights came back on. “Umm… yes. Yes, I’m here, but I’m not sure yet what’s going on. Do you know what happened?”

“Not really. I mean, I was with my girlfriend, you know, Alya from the Ladyblog? Sorry, you know Alya. I just uh… don’t know who’s around.” Nino moved closer and accidentally bumped into Marinette. “Oh, sorry dude. I mean Ladybug. I can’t see at all.”

Ladybug did a mental checklist of what she should and should not say with Nino assuming she was Ladybug. “It’s fine, Nino. We’re not alone, we have a little one here with us. Say hi, Luc.”

“Hi.” Luc beamed. “I was scared, but Ladybug found me and she’s going to help me find my mommy!”

Marinette grimaced, unbeknownst to those around her. “I’m definitely going to try, Luc, but it’s hard when we can’t see anything.”

Nino cleared his throat and lowered his voice a bit. “Do you, uh… do you have my bracelet? Maybe I could help.”

Ladybug sighed, wondering how much she should divulge. Chewing her lip and leaning slightly closer to where she was pretty sure Nino was, she whispered. “I don’t. I don’t even have my… little friend.”

Nino gasped softly. “You’re not…”

Marinette grit her teeth, incredibly worried she’d just ruined everything. “No. I’m not. But with Luc here, we need to focus on helping him find his mother.”

She heard Nino take a deep breath. “Do you have a cell phone? Maybe we could use the light. I had to leave mine with my teacher for this special trip we’re on, so..”

Digging her nails into the hand that wasn’t holding Luc’s in frustration, Marinette crouched down. “I don’t have it on me. Luc? Climb onto my back, okay bud? I’m going to give you a piggyback ride so we don’t have to worry about you tripping.”

“Okay.” He felt around as he found his way to Marinette’s back and she hoisted him up.

“Nino, we should stick together. Will you walk in front? If you feel along the wall, just see if you can find a door or a switch or something. Just… don’t turn on the light right away if that’s what you find, okay?”

“Yeah, no problem Ladybro.”

They settled into several minutes of slowly moving forward in their tiny procession. The constant sliding sound of Nino’s hand on the wall, feeling its way around was comforting to Marinette, and it was nice to have a friend with her, even if he didn’t realize they were anything other than hero friends. He would occasionally push aside something on the floor to clear their path, but none of them were much in the mood to speak.

“Stop!” Nino yelled, but Marinette managed to slam into the back of him anyway.

“I’m sorry. Is everything okay?”

“Umm…”

She heard the soft sound of him feeling around the wall once more before he let out a low whistle.

“What is it, Nino?”

“Yeah, what is it, Nino?” Luc supplied.

“There’s uh, a huge crack in the wall. I think it goes…” He felt further down the wall, following the crack all the way to the floor, and then… across the floor. “Oh man Ladybug, this crack is huge.” He felt along the edge of it and then moved his fingers forward, trying to figure out how far across it was, when his fingers found nothing.

“Stay back, it feels like there’s a big hole here.” Nino laid down on his stomach and tentatively reached out his arm, hoping he could find the other side of the hole. He stretched his arm as far as he could without risking his safety and found nothing straight across and nothing straight down. Suddenly feeling incredibly uneasy, he pushed his body farther away from the edge and stood, feeling his way back to where Marinette stood, waiting. Reaching out awkwardly to cover Luc’s ears, he whispered. “There’s a sinkhole or something, Ladybug. It’s huge. We have to turn around.”

He slowly removed his hands from Luc’s ears and placed them on Marinette’s shoulders. “Why don’t you let me take him for a while. I really don’t want him walking anywhere by himse—“

“Hello?” A strained voice came from near them. A groan came from the same direction, followed by a stifled yell. “I think my leg is stuck.”

“Okay, umm…” Marinette found Nino’s hand and squeezed it. “Take him. I’m going to go help, but I don’t want Luc moving away from this wall. In fact, move further away from the uh… crack.”

After Luc’s careful transfer, Marinette felt the ground with her feet before transferring her weight, taking careful steps away from the wall. “Can you keep talking? I’m trying to get to you. I’m Ladybug, and I’m here to help.”

“My…” the voice sobbed. “My lady?”

Marinette hardly was able to hold herself back from running toward his voice as her heart started to race. “Chat?! Are you hurt?”

Adrien grunted with effort as he tried once again to pull himself out of the debris he was caught in. “I think the only thing hurt is my pride. I hate being trapped.”

Marinette kept moving closer to him, nervous about his movement. “Stop trying to pull free, you could be in shock and not know you’re hurt.” Her foot touched something soft and she bent down to find him reaching out to her. She found her way, through touch, into his arms, kneeling down next to him and holding him tight. “Oh, Chat. I’m so glad you’re here.”

Adrien breathed in her warm, comforting scent and sighed. “Where else would I be but by my lady’s side?” He rubbed her back gently, realizing that what he was feeling wasn’t her suit, and he was feeling it with his bare hands. “Oh man. Plagg? Plagg, where are you?”

Pulling back, but still holding tight to his arms, Marinette listened for Plagg’s telltale nasally whine.

“Plagg!? Come on, you lazy cat, where are you?” Adrien’s voice sounded desperate, worried.

“Wait, so… neither of you are transformed?” Nino’s voice sounded closer than it should have.

“I thought I told you to stay back!” Marinette yelled, the worry evident in her voice.

Adrien shifted his free leg and caressed Marinette’s arms with his thumbs. How long had he wanted to hold Ladybug in his arms without their suits in the way? He shook off the thought. “Who’s there? And Tikki isn’t with you, either?”

“Cara… uh… careful, Chat. Don’t move too much. No, she’s not here. It’s Nino Lahiffe. His girlfriend is Alya, from the Ladyblog, remember? Also a little boy I found all by himself.”

“Yeah, hey Nino. I’d say it was great to see you again, but...” He forced a chuckle and tried to keep his voice even, but it meant the world to him to have another friend close by.

“Sorry, Ladybug. I didn’t want to leave you to help Chat Noir on your own. Luc stayed on my back and we crawled over here. We were careful, I swear.” Nino finally made it to where they were and touched Marinette’s back. “Sorry. But we’re here, and I can help if I need to.”

“Are you really Chat Noir?” Luc’s soft voice sounded scared but in awe as Nino set him down next to them.

Adrien reached out with one hand and found Luc’s arm. “Yep. It’s me, your friendly neighborhood Chat Noir. Clawsome to make your acquaintance… Luc, was it?”

Luc regaled Adrien with tales of having seen him running across Paris’ rooftops as Marinette and Nino attempted to feel their way around what was trapping him.

Marinette ran her hand down the length of his leg until she arrived at the point he was being pinned, just under his knee. She felt carefully around the edges of the debris, trying to figure out if it could be moved. “I don’t feel any blood, but the pressure could be stopping it. Nino, are you wearing a belt? I don’t want to risk him bleeding out.”

“No, sorry.”

“I am.” Adrien reached down and tried to unbuckle his belt with one hand, unwilling to pull his other arm away from the frightened boy at his side. His hand shook more than he had expected, when he felt Marinette’s hands move up his leg and toward his stomach.

“Here, I’ll get it.” She clumsily found his buckle and started undoing it, trying to be quick about it and not linger.

Adrien still held his breath through the whole thing and tried not to think about how much of a fantasy that was for him.

She tugged the belt out from around his waist and moved her hands back toward his knee. “Nino, do you think we can move this, whatever it is?”

“Yeah. I don’t think it’s holding up anything else, and it seems like if we lift it and shove it back…” he took her hand and moved it in the direction he was trying to indicate, “this way, we should be good.”

Marinette nodded before realizing that he couldn’t see it. “Sounds good. Chat, I’m going to tie your belt just above your knee, and I have to pull it tight, okay?”

“If you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask.”

“Hush Chat, you’re literally right next to Luc.”

“Right, sorry. Luc, girls are icky, don’t you think?”

Marinette sighed exasperatedly as Luc and Nino both giggled. “This isn’t the time, okay? I’m worried about you.” She wrapped the belt around his leg and carefully looped it through the buckle as tears pricked at her eyes. She listened as Chat attempted to keep Luc in good spirits by telling him about the amazing view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. After a couple tries, she managed to force a new hole through the belt so it would stay pulled tight.

“Okay. Ready Nino?”

“Yeah, dude, let’s do this.”

Marinette crouched over Adrien, hoping that if something went wrong, she could prevent him from being hurt more. She reached out and, after feeling Nino’s hands near her own, found a good grip on the base of the heavy object. “Okay Chat, on three we’re going to lift it and you have to pull your leg free, alright?”

“Anything you say, m’lady.” His voice only betrayed his confident facade slightly as he quickly shifted to reassuring Luc. “Say, bud, did I tell you about the time Ladybug and I had to fight another Ladybug?”

Gritting her teeth and digging in her feet, Marinette prepared to put all of her considerable strength into setting her kitty free.

“One... Two…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one I started writing back in January and then set on the back burner. I’m excited to get back to it but also have a lot of works in progress currently, so hopefully I’ll get to it soon! Thanks for reading, friends!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Other people were involved in this mysterious incident, and we find out what some of them are dealing with.

“Nino! Nino can you hear me?!” Alya yelled down the small hole that she was reasonably certain her boyfriend had fallen through. Shining the flashlight of her cellphone down, she tried to take a look around the area underneath the hole without getting too close to the crumbling edges. When she saw nothing and heard no reply, she sat back up, scooting further away from the hole and turning off the flashlight.

“Why’d you turn it off? We can’t see anything without it.” Kim sat next to the small window in the room, the unusually dark night casting the barest amount of moonlight on the side of his face.

Alya sighed and moved closer to the window, sitting next to Mylène and Alix. “I’m the only one who was sly enough to bring a dummy phone to turn in so I could keep my real one, so I can’t waste the battery.” She leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes and trying not to cry. “Plus, I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will be here in no time and I need my phone to get video of them defeating whatever akuma it was that did this.”

“I still think we should head outside. This building is structurally unsound.” Max pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “If Markov were here we could—“

“He’s not though, is he?” Alix snapped. “And neither are most of our friends. You can leave if you want to, Max, but I’m not going anywhere until we make sure everyone is safe.” She stood, the moonlight shining through the window allowing her to see just well enough to not bump into anyone. “I can’t just sit here anymore. Alya, are you sure Nino fell in that hole?”

“I think so, but…” She didn’t want to say what she was thinking as a plausible alternative. They had been right next to each other when what felt like an earthquake ripped through the building and knocked out the power. There had been a lot of noise all at once and once she could hear well enough and the chaos had subsided, calling out for Nino yielded no response from the only person she needed to hear one from. Her phone had been in her hand at the time of the destruction and it took her several minutes of feeling around before she found where she had dropped it. By the time she had found it and turned on her flashlight, Nino could have long since wandered off.

“That’s good enough for me.” Alix walked closer to the hole, walking around the edge of it, careful not to get too close. “Kim. Get over here.”

Kim didn’t hesitate to hop to his feet and walk over to his petite classmate.

Alya wiped at her wet eyes in the dark before looking over toward her minimally illuminated friends. “What do you think you’re doing, Alix?”

“Kim’s gonna lower me down. That way I can try to find Nino instead of sitting here doing nothing.”

Alya rose to her feet, crossing the short distance between them and placing her hand on Alix’s shoulder. “Uh, no he’s not. You’ll stay here until Ladybug and Chat Noir show up. Besides, you won’t be able to see anything down there without a flashlight.”

Shrugging Alya’s hand off, Alix sighed. “Max. How long does it usually take Ladybug and Chat Noir to show up when there’s an akuma?”

Max didn’t hesitate. “They have an average response time of four point two three minutes.”

Alix looked at Alya’s dark face pointedly. “And how long has it been?”

“Approximately twelve minutes and… forty-three seconds.”

Alya huffed and looked around at what little she could see. They had already established that they only had one way out of the room that wasn’t going down the hole. The majority of the small room had collapsed, blocking their way through the door. That left only the small window and the way that Alya could only hope Nino had gone. She stared once again toward the pile of debris that she prayed hadn’t become her boyfriend’s impromptu burial site as tears once again threatened to fall.

Tapping her foot impatiently, Alix gestured around her in question. “Well? They’re not coming, Alya. We have to accept that and do something. Whatever we can do. If you’re so worried about me having light, give me your phone. Or come with me.”

Swallowing a sudden lump in her throat, Alya was torn. Her journalist instincts told her to stay, to be near the action with a mostly charged device with a camera. Every other part of her, however, was screaming at her to go do anything and everything she could to make sure her friends, and especially Nino, were safe.

“Fine. I’m coming with you.”

Approaching the hole slowly, Kim lowered himself to his stomach and held out his hands. “Ready when you are, tiny.”

Alix glared at him in the dim light and sat near the edge, slowly scooting toward the edge and reaching out to take Kim’s hands. She glanced down into the darkness below, hesitating slightly.

“Alya, shine your light down there for a sec. I just want to make sure there’s still a floor to land on. For my own peace of mind.”

Stepping close to the hole and leaning forward, Alya turned on her phone’s flashlight to the lowest setting, hoping to conserve battery. Some of the edge began to crumble underneath her foot and she gasped, stepping back after she was able to see the bottom. “Okay. There’s a floor. We should be fine once we’re down there as long as nothing falls on our heads.”

“Good enough for me.” All at once, Alix tightened her grip on Kim and slid down into the hole. 

Kim grunted as he took on the whole of Alix’s weight in one moment, but managed to not drop her. “How close are you to the floor?”

Alya took a step forward again, shining the light so Alix could see.

“Only a few feet, it looks like. You’ll have to just drop me.”

Kim did as he was told and Alix landed nimbly, dropping into a crouch.

“I can’t see much past this small section of floor. Drop your phone down here so I can see what we’re dealing with.”

“Uh…” Alya sat on the edge and considered. She didn’t like being separated from her phone, especially when it was the only one they had access to. “Okay, but… make sure you catch it, alright?”

Alix put her fists on her hips as she rose to the entirety of her diminutive height. “You’re not tossing it to Max. I’ll catch it.”

“I find that to be particularly offensive.” Max stood near the hole, gazing down, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Alya chuckled nervously. Her friends’ banter was comforting, but her worries about Nino and why on earth Ladybug and Chat Noir hadn’t shown up were making it hard to stay completely calm. She functioned much better when she had a clear idea of what was going on, and she was operating on basically zero information.

She set aside those thoughts, trying to focus on the fact that heading down into this hole may just give her some of the information she was looking for. The most important piece, really. Was Nino alive?

Dropping her phone down to Alix, who skillfully caught it without issue, Alya slid closer to the edge and took Kim’s hands. “Don’t drop me, okay?”

“I won’t.” He looked smug. It made Alya nervous.

“No really, Kim. Don’t drop me.”

“Don’t worry, Alya, I got this.”

She grimaced but slid the last bit until she was free falling, only Kim’s strong hands holding her. As soon as he had to take her weight, their hands slipped and she fell directly onto her read end.

“Ah…” Alya turned slowly, curling into the fetal position. “Damn it, Kim. Owww…”

“Sorry Alya, Alix weighs basically nothing and… you… weigh more than that.”

“Quit while you’re ahead, you moron. I think you broke my butt.”

Alya rubbed at her tailbone before realizing there was someone who could have caught her. “What the hell, Alix! Couldn’t you have caught me?”

Alix was turned away, shining the flashlight off in the distance. “S… sorry Alya.”

Carefully rising to her feet Alya looked back up at the two boys staring down at her. “You guys should take the window, get outside and get help. I don’t know what happened with our heroes, but if we find Nino, we’re all going to need help getting out of this hole if we can’t find another way out. Hopefully we’ll be back here soon, so go try to make sure the rest of our class is out too.”

Watching as Kim stood, Alya wrapped her arms around herself. “And Kim?”

He turned back, looking down curiously. “Yeah?”

“Whatever you do, don’t let Marinette or Adrien come after us. I don’t want them putting themselves in danger.”

Kim only nodded, turning to leave the building with Max.

Finally Alya focused on Alix, who was still staring off in the distance where she had the flashlight pointed. “Hey. You okay?”

When Alix didn’t respond, Alya turned her attention to a pile of rubble. Underneath, a long, distinctly feminine arm reached out, her hand clutching a small wooden fire truck. The red stood in stark contrast to the dust and debris that covered and surrounded the woman who had tragically lost her life.

Death wasn’t something they normally had to deal with when it came to akumas. Ladybug was usually there before things ever got anywhere near this bad.

Which begged the question… what exactly had happened here? And… was it really only here? Why were there no sirens? Alya knew that Paris had become lazy in its complacent reliance on Ladybug and Chat Noir, but what was going on?

She pulled her phone from Alix’s hand and pulled the petite girl into a hug. “It’s no one we know. I saw the woman with her… her son… before we started the tour.”

Alix sobbed into her chest. “How does that make it any better?”

Alya’s eyes filled with tears. She had to find Nino. She had to make sure he hadn’t met the same fate. She wasn’t going to be able to function if he had.

“It doesn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter chapter this time, sorry.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We head back to the basement to see how Adrien, Marinette, Nino, and Luc are holding up.

“Chat Noir, are you okay?” Luc’s tiny voice sounded worried. For just a moment after they lifted the large piece of rubble that had fallen on his leg it was clear to Marinette that her partner was doing his utmost to avoid crying out.

Then he had gone quiet.

“Luc? What is it? Chat?” Marinette’s head was pounding again from the effort she’d put into freeing him, and despite the fact that she couldn’t see anything at all, she could feel the room spinning around her. But her concern for her other half overtook all else, and she took a step forward and dropped to her knees between his legs.

At the same time, she heard Nino shuffle carefully closer, making his way around them toward Luc.

“Hey little dude, let’s give him a little space, yeah? Sometimes when we get hurt we just need a little bit of time to rest.”

“Okay, Nino…” Luc sounded unsure, but the two of them moved several feet away and Nino began distracting him with stories and amusing anecdotes.

Marinette leaned forward, placing her hands on Adrien’s chest for balance. Her dizziness wasn’t subsiding and she felt an extreme urge to lie down and close her eyes. But her kitty was alive, and she had to make sure he stayed that way. The gentle rise and fall of his chest centered her, and she found herself reveling in the consistency of his breathing and the reassurance she felt underneath her hands. She moved a hand to where she could feel the steady beating of his heart. The loose fabric of his shirt felt so odd compared to the skintight leather she was used to.

“He’s alive…” she barely whispered, but Nino seemed to hear her, his words faltering for a moment in the story he was regaling Luc with. When he began again, there was thick emotion in his voice that he slowly was able to lessen as he focused on Luc’s need to be calmed.

Pushing herself back, Marinette sat on her heels and moved her hands slowly down to his knees. She moved her right hand to meet her left where it rested just below the tightly wound belt. Unsure what to do, tears filled her eyes. She’d taken a basic first aid class and learned CPR when she started babysitting… she’d had to help many akuma victims and passersby when they’d been hurt during an attack… None of that had prepared her for what to do when her normally super-powered partner was not currently in possession of his powers and could bleed out if she did the wrong thing.

She wished she could see her hands, or anything for that matter. What she wouldn’t do for a bottle of water to at least be able to rinse them off before she touched what could be an open wound. But truthfully, if the makeshift tourniquet she’d administered wasn’t saving his life, she worried about the damage it may cause if she left it too long.

Listening as Nino spoke to Luc about his best friend, Marinette’s heart broke. Adrien. How had she not thought about Adrien? Where was he? They hadn’t been separated for more than just a few minutes before… her head was hurting again. She was having a hard time thinking about exactly what must have happened.

Focusing instead on the task at hand, she wiped her hands of unknown condition on the inside of her shirt before once again finding her partner’s right knee. Gingerly, she explored the portion of his leg underneath his knee. She could feel the fabric of his jeans torn around the edges of his wound, but the cut itself felt shallow and superficial. It was a good sign, but she would be a lot more certain if she could see it.

“I have no idea what I’m doing, Chat. I’m so sorry. I’m trying.” She was sure he would have said something reassuring if he’d been conscious.

“Pr… incess?”

Marinette panicked for a moment, squeezing his knee gently. “N-no, Chat… it’s me.” She realized that was still too vague. “Ah, uh… It’s Ladybug.”

“Wow.” Adrien reached down and took her hand. “I never realized before, but you sound so much like— Agh!”

He had tried to move his leg.

“Chat Noir, are you okay?” Luc attempted to move closer to his heroes, but Nino held him back.

“He’s okay, little dude. He just got hurt. We’ll get him out of here and make sure he sees a doctor.”

Luc turned around and threw his arms around Nino, burying his face in his shoulder as he cried.

Marinette was still holding Adrien’s hand, telling him not to move as she used her other hand to run her fingers carefully along his shin. Near his cut, she could distinctly feel the jagged edges of what was clearly broken bone. Chat gripped her hand harder, grunting in an effort to keep from crying out. She moved her hand to the belt tied around his thigh and pulled his hand close to her mouth, kissing his fingers tenderly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

He only whimpered in reply.

“Chat… I don’t think your bleeding is bad enough to keep the belt on, but it’s hard to tell without being able to see. I’m worried that cutting off your blood flow is going to do you more harm than good at this point.”

“I trust you.” His voice was strained and he squeezed her hand once more before relinquishing her so she could go about her task.

“I just…” she began, “I don’t really know what I’m doing.”

“Bug, it’s fine. Just loosen it. Then wait, and if it starts bleeding again you can just tighten it back up, right?”

Her heart felt like it might beat out of her chest. She was terrified of doing the wrong thing. “I don’t know. I guess?”

Adrien placed his hand on top of where her hands rested, shaking, on top of the belt. “My Lady… I have never met anyone with more confidence than you have on your worst day. You’ve thought this through. You checked the best you could. I don’t know what the right thing is any better than you do, but I trust you.”

Marinette paled and vowed then and there to take some more intensive first aid classes. She would never be in a situation where she didn’t know the right thing to do again. If something awful happened to her partner because she didn’t know how to save him, she would never forgive herself.

“If you die or end up permanently disfigured, I’m giving up fa—“ She paused, realizing her mistake just in time. “I’m giving up the career I want and going to medical school.”

Taking her hands in his, Adrien pulled her closer until she finally figured out what he was doing and laid on top of him, burying her face in his chest while he wrapped his arms around her. They both had some reservations about being so intimate alone much less with two other people in the room, and were truly thankful for the darkness for the first time that night.

“First of all, Bug, never give up anything that’s important to you, especially not for me. And second, I’m going to be fine. Don’t worry.”

Making no attempt to move, Marinette pressed herself closer to him, breathing in the strangely familiar scent of his cologne. He didn’t usually smell like much of anything with his suit on. “Of course I worry, Chat. You mean the world to me. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Adrien lifted his head just enough to be able to kiss the top of her head, his hands caressing her back of their own accord. He immediately wondered if he’d done something wrong, however, when she suddenly pushed herself back up to her knees, clearing her throat.

“Okay Chat, let’s do this.” Marinette’s hands made their way back to the belt and, holding her breath, slowly undid the buckle, loosening it only enough to allow blood flow. Moving her hand to his wound, she pressed her hand gently against him, feeling for moisture or anything concerning.

Adrien pushed himself up onto his elbows, letting out a groan.  
“You okay?” Marinette looked up in his direction out of habit, her heart rate skyrocketing even further. “This was a terrible idea, wasn’t it?”

“No Bug, it’s fine… just, tourniquets are really painful. Who knew?”

She knew he was trying to be funny, to lighten the mood, but she was far too worried to be amused. Feeling around while trying her best to not put pressure on his broken bone, she felt… nothing.

“I… I think it’s okay. I don’t feel any blood.” She loosened the belt more and waited another minute, keeping her hands where they would feel something if there were anything to feel.

Nino sighed. He had been carrying on a lively conversation with Luc about a show that Noël had forced him to watch, but since it seemed like the reasons for distracting the boy were mostly over with, he rose to his feet.

“Okay bros, I say we get the he—“ He tugged on Luc’s hand, indicating he should stand too. “Let’s uh, let’s get out of here, huh?”

Luc stood and squeezed Nino’s hand. “Can I ride on your back, Nino? I’m tired.”

“Of course, tiny bro.”

Marinette took Adrien’s hand and stood. “If you get your left leg under you and I pull, do you think you can stand?”

“Uh, I think so, but…” Adrien swallowed and lowered his voice. “But... Bug? There’s something I need to talk to you about. Alone.”

“It’ll have to wait until we get outside, Chaton. Right now I need to make sure you’re okay. Now let’s get you up.”

Bending his left leg and planting his foot, Adrien did his best to take as much of the work from his lady as possible while he stood. Immediately after he had risen, he nearly fell back to the floor as Marinette slammed into him, barely able to keep herself upright.

The incessant pounding in her head had gotten substantially worse with the effort of getting Chat to stand and the room started to spin around her again.

“Bugaboo, are you okay?” Chat shifted on his one foot, trying to prevent both of them from falling. He held her head where it rested against his chest and his fingers found what felt like dried blood in her hair. “What happened?”

She groaned and clutched his arms tighter. “I don’t know. Something must’ve fallen and hit me. I think I had blacked out for a bit, but I’m not really sure.”

Adrien held her close and kissed her head. “Alright, we’re sitting.” As he carefully lowered them back down to the floor, he raised his voice to speak to his best friend. “Nino. Take Luc and try to find a way out of here. Ladybug’s hurt too, so we’re just going to have to wait for help, or hopefully we’ll find out where our kwamis went before that.”

Nino adjusted Luc’s position on his back and clenched his jaw. He was worried about his teammates, but Chat was right. He needed to get Luc out of there and then get at least one other person to help him help their heroes.

“Okay. Take care of each other, bros.”

“Yeah… take care,” mumbled the sleepy boy atop Nino’s back.

Adrien ran his fingers gently through Marinette’s hair. “We always do.”

Feeling his way along the wall, Nino gingerly made his way in the direction opposite from the giant and mysterious crack in the building, reluctantly leaving his friends behind.

Marinette’s head was slowly returning to a more normal level of pounding headache as she slumped up against Adrien’s side. “Okay… What did you need to talk to me about?”

Adrien grunted as he adjusted his broken leg so he could hold his lady more effectively. “I just…” He caressed her cheek. “Sit up more, Bug. You might have a concussion, you need to stay awake.”

“Mm… fine.” Moving slowly, Marinette pushed her torso upright, scooting herself closer to him so they could remain in constant contact.

Chuckling at her stubbornness even in their precarious position, Adrien wrapped an arm lightly around her torso and held her close. “I wonder if we should have told Nino our identities. He’s going to go up there and tell people that Ladybug and Chat Noir are down here and need help and as soon as someone comes…”

“Yeah. I know. I was hoping we could get out on our own so we could pretend we were just our civilian selves and we happened to get similar injuries.”

“That still would have required we found out each other’s identities.”

Marinette sighed. “I know. And if anyone had to, I would have just been glad it was you. But now I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’ll depend on who comes to help us, I guess.” She reached out and took his hand once she was able to find it. “I’m sorry, this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have told Luc I was Ladybug in the first place.”

Adrien stiffened, but turned and kissed her temple. “I’m sure it’s fine. If it’s people we don’t know we’ll tell them we were trying to keep Luc calm by telling him we were superheroes, and if it’s Nino again… I don’t know.” Even knowing that he would likely know the identity of his lady love before the night was over, he was afraid to give hints to his identity. “I think we can trust him.”

Marinette wasn’t so easily fooled by his apparent attempt at a distraction. She could tell something was wrong. “I’m sure you’re right, but… Chat. You didn’t tell me you wanted to talk to me alone so we could talk about protecting our identities.”

He was quiet for a long while, contemplating the best way to say what he had to say. His heart hurt. His throat hurt. His leg hurt. He wanted to just be happy that he was finally going to know who Ladybug was under her mask, but that night had been one of the worst of his life, and he didn’t know how to talk about it.

Reaching out to touch his cheek, Marinette found that it was wet with tears. “Chat Noir, are you okay? What’s wrong?” She turned and gathered him into a tight hug.

“I…” he began, his emotions making it difficult to speak as he gratefully held her and buried his face in her shoulder. “Bug, it’s… it’s not your fault. All of this? The damage? Our injuries? The fact that we’re about to be revealed to who knows who? All of it… all of it is my fault.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alix and Alya find what they're looking for.

Nino was doing his best not to trip as he walked slowly along the wall, hoping that it would eventually lead him somewhere. 

Luc had fallen asleep shortly after they parted from Ladybug and Chat Noir, and he had to keep both arms behind him in order to prevent the tiny boy from slipping. Keeping his shoulder pressed against the wall, each step was a slow shuffle forward to ensure that he wouldn’t trip on a piece of debris or fall into another unexpected hole.

Belatedly, he realized he shouldn’t have held Luc on his back.

Kicking another piece of who knows what to the side, Nino sighed and hoped he could find his way out soon. He was sure Luc’s mother was losing her mind not knowing where her son was.

Once he was able to pass the boy off to his mom, he knew he’d have to be the one to come back to help the two heroes he left behind. No one other than he and Luc knew yet that they were down in the endless darkness. If he could find someone else he knew wouldn’t give away their identities, he could help them maintain their anonymity from everyone other than the two of them… and each other. It couldn’t be helped, but it was certainly better than the whole of Paris finding out who they are.

Pausing to hike Luc further up on his back when he started to slip once again, Nino was just about to take another slow step when he realized he could make out the shape of something on the floor. He paused, confused, when it only became clearer.

He looked up and could see a distant light moving steadily closer, shadows bouncing every which way as the source of the light moved with whomever was carrying it. He took a step forward as he heard hushed voices, familiar voices, growing slowly in volume.

Alya.

The moment he could see well enough to walk without fear of tripping, he hurried forward as best he could, desperate to see the girl that voice belonged to.

“Alya!”

The light suddenly spun around wildly before settling again, halting for a moment before it moved up and down as a gorgeous brunette rounded a corner, tears streaming down her face. She had shed her plaid button-up shirt at some point and was wearing jeans and a white tank top.

Nino only caught a glimpse of her before he was temporarily blinded by the light she was shining at his face to get a good look at him.

“Nino.”

She tossed the phone to Alix, no longer concerned about it being dropped, and closed the distance between herself and her boyfriend in a few long strides. Her hands immediately found the sides of his face and she kissed him deeply and passionately.

He returned the kiss with fervor, savoring the softness of her lips and the sweet smell of her hair. He had been so worried about her after he fell into a hole and couldn’t get her attention or even hear her in all the subsequent chaos and screaming. 

After a long, indulgent moment, Alya pulled back to properly look at him again, her brows knitting together and emotion clutching at her chest. “I thought you were dead, Nino.” She couldn’t stay away however, and leaned in to kiss him once more. “Don’t ever wander off like that again, okay? My heart can’t handle it.” Her lips were newly pressed to his in no time at all. “Why aren’t you holding me?”

Nino smirked at his girlfriend and turned so she could see the small boy on his back.

“Sorry, babe. Since this guy fell asleep, my arms have been pretty well occupied just trying to keep him from falling.”

The color drained from Alya’s face as recognition hit her like a truck. She looked over at Alix who was already staring at her questioningly. The tears beginning to spill down Alya’s face were the only answer needed.

When Nino turned back to smile at Alya, his amused smile quickly faded into a look of concern.

“Hey, you okay?”

Alix handed Alya her phone, the light in the corridor bouncing around as she began pulling Luc off of Nino’s back.

The boy looked gigantic on Alix’s petite frame, but it was quite clear that she was not going to relinquish him to anyone. Holding him tight against her, his head resting on her shoulder, Alix closed her eyes and promised herself she wouldn’t leave Luc’s side until he was reunited with whatever family he had left.

Nino watched Alix, so protective over the boy she’d just met, before turning back to his distraught girlfriend. “Did something happen?”

Alya stepped closer to Nino, placing her hands gently on his chest, her lower lip trembling. “We found his… his mother.” She was staring at her own hands, her words thick with emotion.

Nino swallowed, dread settling uncomfortably in his stomach. “I-is she…” He couldn’t finish, but he didn’t have to. Alya’s hands moved to cover her mouth and she choked back a sob, leaning forward and burying her face in his chest. After a moment of shock, Nino wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, holding her as she cried.

Alix turned, barely seen with the phone’s light mostly obscured between the embracing couple. She took a step closer to them and gave Nino a serious look. “What’s his name?”

“Luc.”

Alix nuzzled her cheek against the boy’s soft hair, holding him just a little tighter.

Pulling Nino down for a gentle kiss, Alya leaned her forehead against his and sighed. “I’m just so glad you’re okay.”

“Same, babe. I was so worried about you.”

Their foreheads still pressed together, Alya used the tip of her nose to nudge Nino’s crooked glasses back up the bridge of his nose before kissing him once more. She pushed away just enough to fix the direction of the light so they could see each other better, then gazed into Nino’s eyes and caressed his cheek with her free hand.

“Let’s get out of here, huh?”

Nino smiled sadly at her and glanced over at Luc. “I need to get him out. He can go with Alix. But after that, I actually need you… there are a couple other people that need our help.”

Alya nodded, thinking everything through. “Okay, Alix will need our help getting out. We checked around a bit in the other direction before we came your way. The stairs are blocked, so as far as we know, the only way out is… the way you came in.”

Alix, ever eager to move on to the next thing, nodded, hoisting Luc further up onto her shoulder. “Sounds good. Let’s get him out of here and never come back to this dump.”

“The... Paris Observatory?” Nino took Alya’s free hand and they started following Alix, who had no intention of sticking around.

“You heard me. Screw this place. Let’s go.”

As they approached the hole through which they would escape, Nino spotted Alya’s shirt lying on the floor and went to grab it.

“No!”

Alya stopped him, grabbing his arm tightly. Glancing back at her questioningly, Nino saw the look on her face and decided not to press the issue.

They could hear emergency sirens in the distance. That was a positive sign.

Alix paid them no attention, walking over to stand directly under the hole. “Okay, Alya, take Luc for a sec and then Nino, you can hoist me up there. Then you can pass Luc to me and go help those people Nino was talking about, sound good?”

Alya was at her side in a moment, reaching out to take Luc into her arms. “Sounds good, Alix.”

Once the little boy was transferred, Alix turned toward Nino.

Nino stared at her, unsure how to proceed. “So, uh… how do you wanna do this?”

Alix sighed. “Just… stand under the hole and plant your feet. Don’t move.”

Nino did as she said, not clear on how that was helpful. A moment later, Alix nimbly scaled his back, pulling herself to stand on his shoulders with little effort. She climbed up through the hole in moments and soon was turned around, peering back down at them.

“Okay, now Nino, since you’re taller, pass me Luc.”

Alya passed the limp, sleep-heavy boy to her boyfriend and he carefully passed him to Alix, whose strength made the transfer seamless.

Alix gave them both another serious look, Luc once again asleep on her shoulder. “Good luck, okay? I’m going to be with Luc, but I’ll try to make sure everyone else got out.”

She left without another word.

Nino and Alya turned toward one another, reaching out to hold hands once again.

“Okay,” Alya began, determined, “take me to these people who need our help.”

Nino licked his dry lips and adjusted his hat. “Yeah, uh… about that.”

Squeezing his hand, Alya took a step closer. “What is it?”

“They’re uh… Chat Noir and Ladybug.”

The information didn’t quite compute, and Alya blinked several times before she was able to parse out what he had said. “You’re kidding.”

Nino shook his head gravely. “No. A-and they’re hurt, Alya.”

Alya looked taken aback. “Oh my gosh, okay, let’s go help them!”

She started pulling him away from the hole when he yanked her back. 

“Hold on. There’s something else. Something you need to know and be prepared for.”

Only staring at him expectantly, Alya spurred him on.

“They’re not transformed, and they don’t have their kwamis with them, so…”

Alya’s eyes blew wide. “So you know who they are?!”

Shaking his head side to side, Nino squeezed her hand, hoping to bring her back down from her discovery high. “No. It was too dark to see anything. But with your phone… we might be about to.” 

When she looked like she was about to start freaking out again, Nino let go of her hand and cupped her cheeks with both hands instead.

“Alya. Babe. They’re trusting us. They don’t even know each other’s identities yet. Ladybug trusted us with miraculouses, she needs to be able to trust us with this, too.”

Her eyes lowering, Alya nodded. The excitement was still there, but tempered. “Of course she can trust us.” She looked back up into his eyes, determined. “They both can. Let’s go help our teammates.”

Nino kissed her firmly on the lips before taking her hand and turning in the direction of their wounded heroes.

“Let’s do this.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a step back to earlier in the evening in order to gain some perspective on everything that has been happening.

EARLIER THAT EVENING

“No, Chloe, you may not keep your phone. I don’t care who your father is, we’re here to learn, not text our friends.” Mademoiselle Bustier thrust out the bag again, encouraging the blonde to add her device to the collection.

With a nasty look and a roll of her eyes, Chloe relinquished her phone, muttering something about her lawyer.

Mlle Bustier was unfazed and smiled at the group of students. “We are guests here, everyone, so be on your best behavior. You all have your notebooks. Find partners and take notes, because each pair will also be writing a paper on what you learn today.”

The collective groans only served to reassure their teachers that they were doing their jobs effectively.

Mlle Mendeleiev stepped forward and addressed the group. “Remember the rules. No one is to leave the building unless there is an emergency. No…” she cleared her throat, “pairing off for anything other than educational purposes... and we will all meet back here before we go into the observatory. One hour, so keep an eye on the time.”

“How are we supposed to do that without our phones?” Kim snarked.

Pointing at a clock on the wall, Mlle Mendeleiev clenched her jaw. “You see that round thing there, Kim? That is an analog version of the digital clock you’re used to. There’s one in every room. If you don’t know how to read it, ask your partner.”

There were a few snickers from the group as Max adjusted his glasses. “It seems that perhaps you have yet to do the math, Miss Mendeleiev. We have an unequal number of students, we will have to form one group of three.”

“Alright, Monsieur Kanté, just for that... you can babysit Kim. Make sure he makes it back here in an hour.” Miss Mendeleiev narrowed her eyes, but the corner of her mouth twitched up in amusement. “Don’t dawdle, children. Get to it!”

Several students immediately scattered, grateful to have some time alone with their friends without teachers constantly ruining their fun. Marinette, however, was staring longingly at Adrien.

“Girl, you’re doing it again.” Alya stepped into Marinette’s line of sight, her hands on her hips. “I thought we were going to do this together. Are you flaking on me?” Her eyes narrowed as she stared down her blushing best friend.

“Sorry, Alya, I just…” Marinette peeked around Alya to look at Adrien again. He was laughing at something Ivan and Mylène were telling him when he spotted Lila heading his way. Looking panic stricken, Adrien scanned the room, found Marinette glancing his way, and rushed to her side.

“Hey Marinette! Hey Alya. Do either of you still need someone to partner with?” He moved closer to Marinette when he saw Lila standing nearby in his periphery.

Alya’s anger immediately subsided, her eyes darting between Adrien, Marinette, and the ever-annoyed Lila. “Marinette does, and there’s no one she’d rather partner with than you.” She took both of their arms and linked them together. “Besides, Nino and I were hoping to get some alone time, if you know what I mean.” She winked and departed without delay to find her boyfriend.

Marinette was so stunned by what had just transpired that she hadn’t been able to register that their arms were linked before Adrien pulled her closer, leaning his side against hers playfully for just a moment. “I can’t think of anyone in our class I’d rather partner with either.” He said it just loud enough for Lila to hear and was thankful when she finally stomped off angrily.

“R-really?” Marinette was bright red and her legs weren’t quite doing their job of holding her up anymore. She lost her balance and Adrien was thankful he’d already been clinging to her, holding her in his arms until she could regain her footing.

It was pretty adorable, the way she could manage to trip over absolutely nothing. He smiled sincerely and returned to their previous position of arms linked, side by side. “Without a doubt. I love spending time with you. This is going to be fun. It’s not every day we get to go on a school trip at night.”

Returning his smile, Marinette followed as Adrien led them to one of the displays. “I’m surprised your father even let you come.”

Adrien rubbed at the back of his neck with his free hand. “Well… he didn’t. Not exactly. But I wasn’t going to miss it. I love school. I love learning. I love all of you.” He made eye contact with Marinette in that moment, and she blushed. The color change didn’t escape him, and he shrugged, backtracking. “You know… all of my friends.”

Marinette looked down for a moment before plastering a kind smile on her face. “Of course. Well… let’s learn then, shall we?” She unhooked her arm from Adrien’s, pulling her notebook out of her bag and opening to the first page.

* * *

Gabriel stood facing a painting of his wife, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. “Are you absolutely certain?”

Nathalie clung tightly to her tablet, a look of fear overtaking her usual calm facade. “Monsieur Agreste… what do you plan to do with this infor—“

“I asked you a question, Nathalie!” He spun around to look her in the eyes, an angry scowl on his face.

Straightening up and adjusting her glasses, Nathalie nodded somberly. “I’m afraid it’s true. I have the footage right here.”

Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath before he reclasped his hands and gave his assistant a hard look. “I take it he’s not in his bedroom. Where is he? Where is Adrien?”

A tear threatened to escape Nathalie’s eye and she looked down at the floor, ashamed of herself for betraying one of the only people she truly cared about because of her blind loyalty to another. “I believe he went to the school outing you had decided against. Would you like me to go retrieve him?”

* * *

Despite a rough start with Marinette, Adrien was proud of what he’d been able to accomplish. She had pulled away at first, diligently taking notes on every little thing they came across. Slowly he had gotten her to open up and they’d talked a little about their childhoods and some of their favorite things. He’d even gotten her to laugh at a couple puns. They also had managed to find a decent direction for their paper, but he cared significantly less about that.

He’d been friends with Marinette for a few years and, though she’d gotten a bit better at talking to him without stuttering or mixing up her words, he wanted her to feel at ease with him. He wanted her to be the kind of friend he could relax and binge watch television or play video games with. It wasn’t until recently that he thought they were finally getting to the point where she’d be comfortable being alone with him for extended periods of time.

Rounding a corner as they both laughed, Adrien spotted a staircase. He reached out and grabbed Marinette’s hand, pulling her with him toward the stairs. Looking down, he grinned. “Should we? I didn’t know this place had a basement.” He squeezed her hand and glanced up to see her blushing once again, a look of bewilderment written all over her face. He was somewhat shocked to realize that he found it utterly entrancing, and it only made him want to steal her away all the more.

Marinette swallowed and nodded, looking down at their joined hands. “Umm, yeah! Who knows, maybe there are more plaques to look at down there.” Her expression turned hopeful, and with a strangely familiar glint in her eyes that Adrien was sure he had never seen on her before, she let go of his hand in a calculated risk. She was halfway down the stairs before Adrien had time to process her actions. She turned back toward him for a moment and smirked. “But first you’ll have to find me.”

Neither of them noticed the figure watching them as they headed down the steps.

* * *

Adrien moved slowly through what appeared to be the observatory’s storage area, checking carefully for any sign of Marinette.

This was perfect. She was finally being playful with him the way he’d seen her be with all of their other friends. She was finally letting herself relax, eradicating the walls she seemed to have set up between them. He loved it. She was so much fun when she was relaxed and confident. It was incredibly alluring...

His mind strayed for a moment and he blushed. She _was_ alluring. There was no denying it. But he couldn’t dwell on that. She was barely starting to warm up to him as a friend. It wouldn’t do to allow his pathetic need for attention to ruin what he’d worked so hard to achieve with her. She was his friend, and whatever else he felt didn’t matter right then.

He heard soft footsteps thanks to his heightened sense of hearing and turned a corner, expecting to see his adorable classmate. The grin on his face quickly faded when he saw who was standing there instead.

“Father...”

Gabriel stood with his hands clasped behind his back and his jaw set. He was furious. Not only had his son disobeyed him and snuck out of the mansion, he’d found out that it was his own son standing in the way of everything he’d been trying to accomplish for so long. He had no intention of coddling the boy.

“Come closer,” he ordered.

Adrien took a couple steps toward his father until the direction of Gabriel’s intense gaze gave him pause. He was staring directly at his ring. He stopped, refusing to move any nearer. “Father, I’m sorry I snuck out, I just didn’t want to miss the chance to come on this field trip.”

Clenching his jaw tight, Gabriel was barely able to keep a sneer off of his face. _Insolence_. He could hardly stand it any longer. Right under his nose the whole time... He could have been done with the whole mess years ago if he hadn’t been so blinded by sentimentality. He relented and stepped closer to his son.

“Give me your ring. Now.”

Out of habit, Adrien moved his left hand to cover his right, covering his miraculous and angling his body to guard it against the threat. His weight shifted to his back foot unconsciously, ready to run. “Why? It’s just a ring.”

“I _know_ , Adrien. I know you’re Chat Noir. Nathalie has it on video. I can’t allow you to skirt around the rules this way anymore.”

Adrien scoffed, all shock at the revelation that his father had discovered his identity forgotten when it became apparent that he still only cared about getting his way. Adrien relaxed his posture. The man wasn’t a threat, he was only a bully. “The rules? That’s what you’re worried about? Not the fact that I’ve been endangering myself for the good of Paris for years? I’m sorry father, this is too important. You have to understand that. I can’t stop until Hawk Moth is defeated.”

Off his guard, Adrien hadn’t expected his father to suddenly close the distance between them and grab his arm, attempting to get a hold on his ring. He didn’t have the same agility he did in his suit, but he managed to twist his body away, pulling his arm free while he turned and started to run. He had to hide until his father calmed down and came to his senses.

“Plagg, claw—“ He suddenly found himself gasping for air. His father’s strong arm was around his neck, making it impossible for him to transform.

“Stop making this harder than it needs to be, Adrien. Just give me your miraculous.” Gabriel’s snarling voice in his ear was harsh and unyielding.

Eyes wide, Adrien struggled to breathe. His father was cruel, but he never believed he would hurt him physically. He clawed at his father’s arm, using all the strength he could muster to regain use of his voice long enough to transform and get away.

Gabriel made a grab at Adrien’s right hand, trying to get the ring so they could both _move on_. Choking his son hadn’t been his intention, but he’d do what he had to in order to return Adrien’s mother to him. He’d thank him eventually.

The boy was kicking and fighting and gagging and if he would just hold still, it would all be over and they could move on. He’d just gotten a hold of the ring and began pulling it off Adrien’s finger when a blur of black caught his attention. A kwami. All black and distinctly feline. He looked murderous.

“GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY KITTEN!!”

The ground started crumbling beneath him, and he lost his grip on his son. While Adrien scrambled away, Gabriel lost his footing and fell as the building cracked open around him.


End file.
